Book review

This book is a collection of the proceedings from a conference held in 1992 as a tribute to Professor A.F.G. Dixon to mark his contribution to ecology. From the proceedings it is clear that this sizeable contribution extends far beyond aphid ecology, though it must be said that there is much within the complexity and diversity of aphid ecology which contributes to other areas of ecology. The book is divided into six sections, covering physiological ecology (five contributors), population ecology (nine contributors), applied ecology (nine contributors), community ecology and conservation (seven contributors), evolutionary ecology (eight contributors), and a final synthesis of aphid ecology provided by Professor Dixon. Throughout, there is a diversity of opinion on many aspects of ecology, making the book an interesting and challenging read, and the majority of the chapters also serve as useful reference sources. In the first section there are chapters on the ecological importance of olfaction to aphids; a detailed treatment of the unravelling of the complexity of photoperiodic mechanism in aphids, a thoughtprovoking discussion of the dynamics of resource allocation; and a general treatment of insect growth and reproductive rates, in which it is shown that herbivorous insects with different life cycles have the same relationship of growth rate and population increase. The section concludes with a treatment of insect cold tolerance and the likely effects of climate change. The next section, on population ecology, clearly emphasizes the roles of climate, stress, nutrition and trophic interactions in population dynamics, with subsequent contributions introducing the concepts and problems of general population modelling and their application to pest populations. This includes a treatment of time-series analysis in population dynamic


ProfpS
PaPers on a variety of subjects connected with his ,0nstSSl?n-During the seventeen years that he practised he was mate* i Y anC^ w *be greatest diligence employed in collecting <}epr-ria\s f?r his great work, the publication of which he was Thoua} see*ng by his early death at the age of forty-four, have 1 work was alniost completely in MS., it appears to book ?en on^ ^ a most strange series of coincidences that the at>leVfHS GVer Published. Dr. Finlayson has made a very readwith 1 es^ay on Dr. Watt's life and work, and has adorned it atf-,-;^11 adniirable photogravure of his subject, after a portrait ttriWed to Sir Henry Raeburn.
Jaeffer^MmS ^ature: Researches and Discoveries of Gustav D_gc 'p Edited and translated by Henry G. Schlichter, ^anv p P'-X'' 261 * London: Williams and Norgate. 1897.?To Whose n^^s^Pen it will be news that the author of these essays, of clotVame-*S connected so prominently with various articles The lln^' *s a w?rker in many branches of organic science. Vesti^SS^s ^lere collected range over an extensive area of in-an<^ c*ea^ t^e doctrine of evolution, and ques-diSea Su?b as training and exercise, the treatment of infectious Pane 6' anc^ t^le configuration of the arctic regions. /n lnfiuenza the onset is sudden, the duration of the a ru]eS a^e sb?rt and the crisis rapid, whilst the lochia as are not suppressed and there is no foul odour, and the milk-secretion is not materially interfered with.
There are also valuable remarks on the scarlatiniform rash which may occur ; and on the average interval between an attack and subsequent relapse. The book is a good instance of the importance of carefully kept records in private practice, and of the value ol the results to be obtained therefrom.
Pp. 47. Berlin: S. Karger. London: Williams and Norgate. 1897.?The methods of purifying the hands of the surgeon and gynaecologist have given rise to much discussion 01 late years, and it is possible that even yet more perfect and simple plans may be devised, but already the results are 01 immense practical value.
The writer gives an interesting account of various plans which have been adopted, and especially discusses the value of disinfection by strong spirit, which he finds very trustworthy. He has now employed it solely for tw? years, during which he has performed a great number of laparotomies and vaginal hysterectomies. This booklet is well worth the attention of the operator who desires to obtain perfect results from his labour.
Practical Manual of Diseases of Women and Uterine Therapeutics. By H. Macnaughton-Jones, M.D. Seventh Edition< Pp. xxiv., 909. London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox. 1897.? From cover to cover this book is essentially practical, but we think it is better adapted for the practitioner than the student-The work has rapidly run through its various editions, and 15 now half as large again as the fifth edition which was published in 1891. All the recent literature on the subject has been in cot' porated where necessary to bring it up to date, but the author in emphatic and somewhat racy language clearly expresses hi5 own methods and views. The light vein which runs through the book helps to convey the practical lessons it is intended to teach, as for example where massage was employed in the case of a fibroid tumour, and the author tersely remarks that " the kinetic energy here might have been more safely expended on the lady's boots." The work is profusely illustrated, and will be found full of useful suggestions and sound treatment. We are glad to notice that the list on the title page of the societies to which the author belongs and his appointments now occupies only five lines instead of twelve. interesting facts are brought forward to show that the period during which a syphilitic parent may become the father of an J^ected child is much longer than is usually stated, the author tj? eei"S with the opinions of foreign syphilographers rather j)rnp 0Se ?f the British school headed by Mr. Hutchinson, are shows that exceptions do exist to Colles's law, but jn S|? few that he does not consider that the practice of allowden 1S^lthy m?thers to suckle tainted infants should be conar nec^ The lectures are well worth a careful study, the ^vhilrQ^n^S ^oth ^or and against being put very fairly and fully, their6}! au^10r expresses his own opinions frankly in spite of being opposed to many well-known authorities. should hesitate to accept the doctrine that the removal of the orbital periosteum hastens the return of the growth by depriving the underlying bone of its protecting envelope. The pathology of some of the tumours is not definitely stated ; but, excluding six which appear to have begun as epithelioma of the lids (and therefore subject, surely, to rather different rules of surgical procedure), it is interesting to note that the average duration of life after the first operation was about fifteen months-All the thirty-six cases ended fatally, from coma in only four instances, from exhaustion in nearly all the others. In addition to this series, eight other cases, including one of carcinoma of the choroid, are related in detail by different authors. Dr. J. A> Andrews gives notes and illustrations of an example of tubercle of the iris, and furnishes a brief synopsis of thirty other recorded cases.
" Double Chorio-Retinitis following Lightning Flash " is the title of a communication by Dr. C. A. Oliver. There is 2. want of precision in the notes, but the subjective sensations of the patient are minutely described and depicted. Such details are interesting from a psychological point of view, but should be accepted with the greatest reservation ; for, in the first place, the patient was "a twenty-year-old engraver and artist" who previously had complained of muscular and accommodative asthenopia, and was suffering from " a low grade of compound hyperopic astigmatism," the extent of which is not specified-Secondly, there is nothing to show that the changes in the fundus did not exist before the eye was subjected to the flash of lightning, and the statement that " the left eye seemed normal in every respect " is contradicted a little further on by the note, "the nerve-head was a trifle too gray for age, and was somewhat hazy." The line of treatment?confinement to bed with the eyes bandaged, so that they might have thorough rest, and be subjected to unremitting daily examinations?is equally contradictory. There are three papers on glaucoma : in one, D*"* Richey layS down the proposition that chronic glaucoma is due of th^6 Unhealthy digestive process which causes a hyperplasia an 6 ^onnective tissue of the globe ; but he does not adduce in irt-*n favour of the proposition. Instances are related llc" taxis and manipulation of the globe proved beneficial, ill e^e are several other papers of great interest and admirably recS j^ted, and yet others which are hardly worthy of permanent to c which occupy too much space in a volume which claims obtain the cream of American ophthalmic work. inc-.e ^irty-fifth day incision was resorted to, the centre of left Sl?n ^einS at the seat of puncture, which was in the fourth pai-SPace, midway between the sternal edge and nipple. The ajment' however, died five weeks later. The pericardium was Thi t entirely obliterated, and contained only a drachm of pus. taD -een cases are referred to, of which eleven were treated by Cov two by incision. Of the whole thirteen only two retreat ' the ones treated by incisions. This mode of 0f ti ^^t is strongly advocated, and seems from the standpoint a le?ry and practice to be correct. Dr. E. H. Tweedy gives cond^Gr much interest on the treatment of eclampsia. He pilo emi^s chloroform, the induction of labour and especially in CarPin> and advocates the use of purgatives, morphia, and are H'ftf cases venesection. It is a subject on which statistics and t to obtain, and not of much value for many reasons; result 1^re^ore his paper is not very convincing, although good Volu S ^ the methods he advocates are brought forward. The e contains many articles of considerable interest and value. Seri ra^sacti?ns of the Kentucky State Medical Society. New ?MeS' and pathology will be found in this volume. It is difficult to single out the work of any particular men, but perhaps that of Gillespie on gastric digestion, and that of Boyd on the proteids of the urine in Bright's disease, are of especial interest to ordinary practitioners. Boyd shows conclusively that the transudation of proteids through the kidney in Bright's disease cannot be a simple process of filtration of these from the blood through a damaged epithelium ; it is rather one of depraved or diseased secretory activity. Gillespie, amongst other interesting researches, has one on the question whether Ringer's dictum that acids inhibit acid secretions, whilst alkalies increase an acid secretion, and conversely, is true of the gastric as well as of the salivary glands. He finds that alkalies do increase and acids decrease the gastric acidity if given before food. He points out that, since the converse results will occur in the case of the pancreas, a dose of alkali before meals will increase both the gastric and pancreatic secretions, whilst acids act in the reverse direction. Hence, for ordinary intestinal flatulence acids should be given before meals, alkalies after. The volume abounds in good work, which, by increasing our knowledge of normal and pathological processes, gives us a better grip of clinical phenomena and improves our power both of treatment and prognosis. The medical students of Bristol manifest an abundance of vitality in many directions. The Debating Society, the Dramatic Society, and the Cricket and Football Clubs must make considerable inroads upon the time which is available after the demands of the routine of the medical course have been satisfied, and now this new literary effort will stimulate all to increased activity in a very praiseworthy direction. The medical student is like the man who " the more he gave away the more he had " ; he gives away much time and labour for the benefit of the sick, but his stock of knowledge grows thereby, and so we have no question that the time spent on this journal will be well spent, and wih in the end be profitable. We wish our spirited contemporary all success, and hope that it will have a long and useful career-The Dentist. No. i. Vol. I. January, 1898. London: flampton and Co.?The first number of this new monthly journal is in good taste, and printed in good style on excellent Paper. Its articles are on various aspects of dentistry and form ^nteresting reading. Whether there will be a demand for another ental journal remains to be seen; but there is always room for good things, and we wish the new comer success. Charities, this work is likely to prove of use. In the making ? these directories Sir Henry delights; he has the qualities for > and probably a well-trained staff. The book contains an outne of the laws affecting nurses, information on the hospitals, nursing agencies in the mother country and colonies, on Provident funds; and also a directory of nurses named alphaetically. There should be also a local list. Mr. W. B. Saunders, of Philadelphia, sends us a note calling our attention to some of the works he has at press. Amongst them are a volume on Genito-Urinary and Skin Diseases, which is to be issued in the "American Text-Book Series." We have gladly availed ourselves of the opportunity of speaking in the highest terms of many important works in that series, in which several other volumes, we observe with pleasure, are in preparation for early publication. Works on Orthopaedic Surgery, Diseases of the Stomach, and Pathological Technique are only some of those that are promised in the year. Mr. Saunders also announces an English Edition of the excellent Atlases published by Lehmann, of Munich, in such admirable fashion and at such moderate prices.
As an evidence of local enterprise we welcome the announcement that Messrs. John Wright and Co. have undertaken the European publication of the Laryngoscope, a monthly journal of which upon its appearance in 1896 we spoke approvingly.